ACCC boss says government should forget about NBN profitability and sink the costs
Samsung breathes life into Android tablet market with new Galaxy Tab S6
Mumbai to Pune hyperloop idea is still a thing
Apple Maps in iOS 13 is looking pretty good
Cheap refurb Fetch TV PVRs, laser rangefinders, Seagate 10TB HDDs, AU KVM VPSes
The boss of the ACCC has said what everyone with half a brain reckons the NBN should do once the rollout is complete - write off the sunk cost of the install. By doing this, NBN won't need to charge ISPs insane wholesale prices in order to recoup the $50b+ government has spent, which will result lower retail prices. If retail pricing is low, the Australian economy will benefit from widespread, fast, reliable internet access - something that just won't happen the way the NBN is going. Cost conscious people will get slower plans, or less reliable wireless services and the full economic benefits of the NBN won't eventuate and 5G telcos will take over, making the NBN even more worthless.
Hate iOS but still want a tablet? Samsung's new Galaxy Tab S6 is pretty much the only option that isn't horribly outdated. I'll reel off some specs: 10.5-inch 16:10 2560x1600 OLED screen, 5.7mm thick, 420g, Snapdragon 855 SoC, S-Pen input (stylus included in the box), dual camera setup, optional LTE modem and two storage/RAM configs (6GB/128GB & 8GB/256GB). The Tab S6 continues support for DeX desktop environment, but you no longer need any extra hardware. You can run DeX either over HDMI or directly on the Tab S6. The official case includes a nice spot to store the stylus. The Tab S6 on sale in Australia September 13th and pricing starts at $1099.
Elon Musk's hyperloop idea isn't going away, with the Indian state of Maharashtra announcing that they've chosen Virgin Hyperloop One and its partner shipping giant DP World to build a Pune to Mumbai hyperloop. Instead of a 3.5hr road trip, a hyperloop system would make the journey only 35 minutes. Sounds awesome, but there's a catch - no humans have ridden in a hyperloop transportation system and the only working demonstration unit (in a desert north of Las Vegas) doesn't go any faster than 370km/h, much slower than the 1000km/h speeds promised by hyperloop evangelists. Good luck to everyone involved in this potential white elephant. Prove me wrong.
Of all the things I use my smartphone for, maps would probably be the feature I couldn't live without. Uncontactable whilst out and about? Love it. Music and podcasts? Bring back the iPod! No social media unless I'm at my desktop PC? Easy. No camera? That's cool, I carried a pocket digital camera for years before smartphones had good cameras. But no maps? I'd be walking in circles and I'd really miss the live traffic info and route adjustment when driving. Hence why I enjoyed this Macstories review of Apple's big update to Maps in iOS 13. The app looks so much better than Google's, I hope the quality of the mapping data holds up in Australia.
Refurbished Fetch TV Mighty ($249) and Fetch TV Minis ($99) on eBay using the code BIGGIE10
ATuMan LS-1S digital laser rangefinder - $21 delivered from Banggood
Seagate 10TB IronWolf SATA HDD - $399.99 delivered from Amazon AU
40% off the lifetime cost of Australian based KVM VPSes from Servers Galore
🎶 Bachelorette - Björk
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The Sizzle is created on Wathaurong land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.